NCCJ hosted our regular Management Forum on October 31 on the topic of Japan's ageing society. In recent years there has been much focus and talk about Japan's ageing society, and the problems and challenges this will increasingly create. Japan now has the world's oldest population, defined as the proportion of people above 65 years of age (more than 20%) - having recently exceeded Italy based on this measure. However, the ageing society also represents a number of potential opportunities for elderly care products and services, and for health and welfare related services generally.
To highlight such opportunites and share their views and experiences, NCCJ invited two speakers: Mr. Bill Hall, who provided a general focus with a wide range of examples of healthcare/elderly care opportunities and Mr. Tetsuo Kashiwagi, who focused on one specific business case regarding a specific product originating from Norway, outlining some of the main challenges in breaking into the Japanese market and how success was ultimately achieved.
We extend our deepest appreciation to our 2 speakers for their excellent presentations on these highly relevant topics.
MANAGEMENT FORUM DETAILS
Topic: Business Opportunities in an Ageing Society
Date: Oct. 31st. (Tue), 18:30 - 20:00 (doors open at 18:00)
Speakers: Bill Hall, President of Synnovate K.K.
Tetsuo Kashiwagi, President of InterReha CO., Ltd.
Venue: Multi-Purpose Hall at the Norwegian Embassy
About Our Two Speakers:
Mr. Hall is Australian and currently President of Synovate Healthcare Japan Ltd., part of the Synovate Healthcare Group. He speaks fluent Japanese and has been a resident in Japan for more than 30 years, going back to his student days. Much of this time he has been involved with market research and consulting, but was for some years also President of the Japanese subsidiaries of Sterling Winthrop (diagnostic imaging products) and Kodak Imagex.
Mr. Kashiwagi is Japanese and Founder and President of Inter Reha Co. Ltd. in Tokyo. His company introduced 'Terapi Master' in Japan, a concept-oriented training device for rehabilitation purposes originally developed by the Norwegian company Nordisk Terapi. In his presentation the challenges of breaking into the market with this product, and how these were successfully overcome with some unique marketing strategies, were explored in great detail.
